Ladyhawke has released a new single featuring BROODS, titled “Guilty Love.” The track will be the first single from Ladyhawke’s upcoming album, which is planned for a release later this year. The accompanying music video was directed by Lula Cucchiara, with Britt Walton acting as the producer. Phoenix Kahlo Connolly, Ana Kelliher, Rosemary Caster and John Blair all act in the music video alongside Ladyhawke and BROODS.
“‘Guilty Love’ came about after some writing sessions with Tommy English in Los Angeles,” Ladyhawke’s Pip Brown said in a press statement. “Georgia Nott from BROODS came along to one of our sessions, and after we were talking a while, we realised we had all grown up Catholic. We shared stories and experiences; Georgia then suggested we write a song about shame.”
The song incorporates peppy instrumentals as Ladyhawke and BROODS sing about the shame, the chorus singing “Guilty Love/Guilty Love/Who am I to blame for the shame but the skies above/Guilty Love/Guilty Love/You’re my new religion and I’m never gonna give you up” within upbeat tones. Their voices fall deeper when they discuss their search for acceptance within their religion, singing, “Why do I care if you don’t care for me/And every time I pray I just pray to be free.” The instrumentals grow in exciting tones when they admit their love, while humming quietly as they grapple with their religion.
“‘Guilty Love’ is important to Georgia and me for different reasons,” Brown said in a press statement. “Personally, growing up in the Catholic school system, as I reached my teens, I started to feel immense shame and denial about my sexuality. I suffered the constant fear of being judged and alienated by my friends and family. These feelings took a long time to shake off and work through. ‘Guilty Love’ is a way to share our experiences, and hopefully help anyone going through the same thing to know they’re not alone.”
The video follows two teen girls attending an all-girls catholic high school. They steal longing glances toward each other during class, their teacher snapping a ruler onto their desk. The girls attend confession, eating the body of Christ and sharing glances in the mirror of the bathroom. They make plans to ditch class, orbiting around one another throughout the length of the video as they joyously run across the field while they leave the school.
“‘Guilty Love’ came from the classic ‘in-studio hart to heart,'” BROODS’ Georgia Nott said in a press statement. “We talked about growing up religiously and how we carried a lot of shame around the idea of what a woman (or person) should be. This song is about that but also about finding our way back to a sense of spirituality through love. The love that once caused so much guilt, ended up being the most healing and spiritual. End Conversion Therapy Everywhere!”
Ladyhawke’s most recent album had been 2016’s Wild Things, which featured her single “Dangerous.” Following the release of her last album, she has gotten married, had a child, and been diagnosed and since recovered from skin cancer.